


Message in a Bottle (RoChu) Ch.2

by SealandRocks



Series: Message in a Bottle (RoChu) [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Love, M/M, Message in a bottle, Series, The Man Under the Waves, beach, chapter 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 08:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SealandRocks/pseuds/SealandRocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day after China finds the mysterious Man Under the Waves's note, he takes the words to heart and is determined to find love.  Of course, that doesn't mean that it will come easily for the poor Chinese man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Message in a Bottle (RoChu) Ch.2

Yao walked through the garden that he and Kiku had planted all those years ago. Flowers of every color popped with vibrancy in the late evening sun, swaying gently with the breeze. Yao’s shoes made soft clicking sounds as he walked over the tiles, his eyes wandering over his marvelous garden, every plant illuminated with the ever-approaching alpenglow. He walked through an archway of bamboo that commemorated the time when he found Kiku, gazing up at the smooth curve of the branches. A flicker of a smile crossed over the man’s face as he walked, the fragrance of the flowers perfuming the air.

Suddenly, Yao stopped his forward movements, and turned to look back at the sea. Gentle waves lapped at the beach, sending shards of diamonds flying through the sunlit air. The Chinese man started walking back towards the waves, his feet barely hovering over the ground. A figure started to form out of the water, seeming to have formed from the waves themselves. It took Yao a moment before he realized that the other was rising from the waves, slowly emerging out from under the water.

The figure was nothing more than a shadow, framed by the sunlight reflecting off the unbroken sea. He had scruffy hair, flowing softly over the nape of his neck with a simple elegance that Yao didn’t know someone could possess. Yao caught a soft flash of pale skin, but mostly the figure was just shaded by the angle of the sun on water. He was wearing what looked to be a long jacket, or a changshan of some sort, with a long cape tied thickly around his neck.

“Hello?” Yao called, but his voice was barely more than a whisper. The figure didn’t turn to face him, instead looking out over the sea, his long cape billowing in the gentle breeze. A voice rang out over the water, quiet, yet as clear as the sky above them.

“Save me… I can’t breathe…” The figure began to fall back into the water with his words, letting the sea claim him. Yao began running, though he was not sure why. Then suddenly, he was falling, down, down into the depths…

Yao jolted awake, sitting up in his bed as his alarm clock wailed at him to get up. The man’s heart was beating fast, and he was gasping for air, still able to feel the water consuming him. A dream…? Yao clicked off his alarm as his heart started to settle, his eyes searching the room. He was in bed… It had been a dream. The man’s gaze landed on the glass vial he had found in the waves the night before, and he picked it up gently. 

“I must have had a dream about him, whoever he is. But what does it mean?” Yao stared at the vial for a moment, as if it could answer his questions. He must have sat there or ages, just staring at the bottle and wondering about the mysterious man who sent it. He could have sat there forever is he hadn’t something important. He had set his alarm thirty minutes before he needed to leave for the next world meeting, and he had wasted most of that time already! Jumping out of bed, Yao threw on his clothes and tucked the vial away in his pocket, quickly slipping on his shoes and putting up his dark hair into a ponytail before running out the door.

Yao was in the meeting hall a few minutes later, sleep still heavy on his eyelids. He was just happy that this week’s meetings were taking place close to his home (Mostly in China, though there was one in Russia), so he didn’t have to navigate an unfamiliar city in his half-awake daze. Even so, Yao was still one of the last countries to arrive at the meeting hall, having only beaten Alfred and Matthew. He tiredly took his seat, rubbing the rest of the sleep from his eyes as he took in the already bickering countries. Okay, so at this point only Arthur and Francis were fighting, but more fights were bound to break out soon. The man tried to sink back into his chair and disappear, but soon found that that would be impossible as Alfred burst through the door.

“Yo, sorry I’m late dudes! But now that I’m here, we can get this meeting on the roll!” The American laughed obnoxiously, causing his brother (who had come in behind him) to sigh and hide his face. Arthur looked up at the other long enough to get decked in the face by Francis, adding fire to their fight tenfold. Before long, the room was just a huge mass of noise in which no one could be heard over, except for the loud reverberance of Alfred’s laugh around the hall. Normally, all of that would be perfectly fine with Yao, except for the part where Alfred hadn’t forgotten about yesterday’s conversation.

“Hey Yao, still looking for the one!?” Al asked over the din, causing the Chinese man to flush with embarrassment and anger. Lovino joined in on the teasing, as did Arthur and Francis. Yao kept trying to get a word in over the countries, but he kept getting talked over. His face was bright red, and darkening in color as he got closer and closer to snapping. He wished someone, anyone, would stand up for him. He wished that just one person would understand. But, of course, they didn’t; how could they? Every one of them was already in a relationship, or headed that way. None of them could fathom what true loneliness could be like. Well, maybe one of them, but that wasn’t important right now.

The teasing and bickering stretched on for an entire half hour, and Yao honestly felt like a saint for holding out this long. Still, Ludwig was too busy with Feliciano to break up the fights, so no hope seemed to be coming for poor Yao. The man’s breaking point was approaching frighteningly quickly. It wouldn’t be too much longer until he lost it.

For some reason, Yao suddenly remembered something. It was the message the Man Under the Waves had sent. “I just hope that you, whoever you are, learn that the only way to get what you want in this world is to take it, and to love it every day of your life.” Yao didn’t have to think for long to figure out what those words meant. If he wanted love, he would have to fight for it. If he wanted protection, he had to fight for someone who would protect him. It was time he stood up for himself. And once he did stand up for himself, he had to hold onto that dominance like it was truly his. With this in mind, Yao let his last straw snap, and he slammed the flat of his hands onto the table. The slapping noise the action created got everyone’s attention, and Yao rose from his chair, flaming with rage.

“Well, I’m sorry that I need love too! I’m sorry that not a single one of you can understand what I’m going through, aru! But honestly, it’s not my fault that I feel this way! If anything, it‘s your fault for making me realize how truly lonely I was, aru! Before all you people came in my country, I was perfectly fine with not having anyone, but now those days are gone, aru! Stop blaming me for what you did, and all of you can just SHUT UP!” Yao’s accent was coming through thicker at the heightened emotion, but he didn’t even notice. He opened his eyes and glared at the four people in front of him, realizing a moment later that the rest of the room had also grown quiet. Had he really yelled that loudly…? Flushing only slightly but still glaring, Yao pushed back his chair so he could step away from the table. 

“We never get anything done here anyway, so I believe I can go home. I’d rather sit in silence than listen to all your insults anyway!” The Chinese man walked out the door, feeling eyes boring holes into his back from all over the room. Well, he was right… There was no need for him to be here right now. It was better to just stay home.

Ivan watched the whole display from across the room, but he clearly caught every single one of Yao’s words. That was odd… The Chinese man didn’t have a lot of outbreaks. Actually, he barely had any outbreaks at all. Ivan wondered what could have caused Yao to snap, and what Yao had been thinking at the time. The Russian made his way over to Alfred, who was looking slightly pale from being so harshly yelled at.

“Alfred, what just happened? Were you upsetting Yao?” Alfred looked surprised at the sudden questions, although he understood why they were asked. He was just extra careful of how he answered Ivan with this topic after learning about his little crush (which he had heard about from Japan) that he had on a certain country.

“I guess so, dude… We were just joking around about that thing yesterday and he lost it!” 

Ivan sighed and ran a large hand over his eyes. “You were still going on about that? Why not just let it go, da?”

Alfred shrugged, deciding that he didn’t like where this conversation was going and coming up with a lame excuse to leave. Ivan didn’t care though. He was caught up in his own thoughts. What could have possessed Yao to do that? He had never yelled like that before, and even when this topic was brought up yesterday he just stood and took all the critisizm. Why was today different? It was almost like something had altered his thoughts… Something that Ivan might have written.

Twenty-four hours after Yao had found the message in a bottle, said man was on the same beach, this time feeling rather good about himself. He probably hadn’t actually done a lot of progress in the love aspect, but he certainly felt accomplished. He had stood up for himself! He had actually defended his beliefs against some of the world’s leading countries! It was about time Yao told them a piece of his mind, even if it had just been a snippet!

Yao gazed at the pebbles below his feet, looking for a smooth rock that might feel good in the palm of his hand. So far he had come up blank, but hope still burned in his chest like a warm candle. He scanned the area for the perfect stone. However, just when he had turned his head to look to his left, a piece of sunlight broke harshly into his eye. Yao moved his head away from the refraction, realizing that it had come from the ground. After the glare had been removed, Yao looked down to where the light had come from.

The sunlight had, in fact, reflected off a piece of glass. Yao reached down to gently pick up the glass, when he suddenly gasped. His fingers curled around a vial, the same size and color as the one he had found yesterday. A huge smile broke out across Yao’s face. It must be another note from the Man Under the Waves! There was no other explanation! The Chinese man made sure to move out range of waves before opening the bottle, eagerly pulling out the note it contained.

To whoever may find this,  
This may very well be the last account of my story. I regret to tell you that it is not a pleasant one. If there is one thing I wish I could tell you in the time I have left, I want to say that you should not be afraid to live your life. Venture outside your comfort zone, and try out new and exciting things. Although love is an important thing to have and hold, it is equally important to have a life that you love to live. If you are not happy with yourself, no amount of love can help. I have kept inside my bubble for years, scared what others might think, and to actually live my life. Ultimately, this was the thing that led to my demise. Please, don’t make my mistakes.  
-The Man Under the Waves

Yao read and reread the words on the paper, nodding to himself slowly. He reflected briefly on his life, examining if he could really relate to what the Man Under the Waves was saying. His life was ok, but not necessarily interesting… Come to think of it, he actually would like more out of it. Maybe he should start going out more, and trying new things… He couldn’t let his fear of crazy things rule his world, right? Right. He would take the advice, and go live a little! But…How? Yao didn’t know anything but how to do things his way. Maybe he could figure it out at the meeting tomorrow. Some of the other countries must have some idea about how he could have some fun.

With this in mind, Yao turned and started back towards his house, tired and excited. How should he start living? Well, he had certainly lived a little today, and it had felt great! But how does someone really live a life worth wanting? And, more importantly, how could he do it?


End file.
